Writers are not always right however, but then again, I've been on shows where the actors have complete control and change everything and it's terrible.
No planet is more earth-like than Earth itself, so if life really does pop up readily in earth-like conditions, then surely it should have arisen many times right here on our home planet? And how do we know it didn't? The truth is, nobody has looked.
If I ever had any vanity, then I definitely lost it by being on television.