Radio Times

Review by:

David Butcher

After glamorising physics, Brian Cox expands his remit to look at “the underlying machinery that powers life”. As ever, he’s a mesmerising scientific storyteller, equally good at explaining the nitty-gritty or wowing us with the big picture.

You’ve probably never given much thought to proton gradients, but Cox devotes a chunk of his programme (perhaps too big a chunk) to explaining what they are and how they are central to the way living things harness energy – or put another way, what makes living things live.

There are gorgeously filmed animals to illustrate the tale, from dragonflies to orangutans. At one stage Cox swims with swarms of beautiful golden jellyfish and explains how they use photosynthesis to harvest solar energy using algae in their own tissue – it’s a lovely sequence.

Thumbs may hover over remote controls when the science bits get taxing, but this is a series that, like his previous triumphs, intends to plumb real depths and in the process waft some very big ideas through our heads. The result is fantastic, mind-expanding television.

About this programme

5/5. Professor Brian Cox considers what it is about Earth that makes it a home for life and asks what ingredients were necessary to transform this once barren planet into the world as it is today. He reveals that a rare chain of events combined with the power of life itself have made it unique in the cosmos.

Cast and crew

Cast

Presenter

Brian Cox

Crew

Director

Gideon Bradshaw

Producer

Gideon Bradshaw

Series Producer

James Van der Pool

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