GEMflo by Power Gems makes Goblins dance
In Doctor Who: Unleashed, The Church on Ruby Road, you can see three Power Gems GEMflo fixtures suspended from a rig for filming green screen. The back lights on the truss are GEMflos helping bring the goblins to life for the Christmas special – the first outing for Ncuti Gatwa, who plays the fifteenth Doctor in the series that began life in 1962. More GEMflos were used for the top light, out of shot.
The episode, screened on Christmas Day in the UK, is not the first outing for Power Gems fixtures – we’re used regularly by the UK rental house which supplies the BBC for filming in Cardiff.
The GEMflos arrived on set in the usual way – in the inventory of a rental house – unlike the Doctor, who regularly regenerates, allowing new actors to play the role. In 2023, the show celebrated its 60th anniversary; previous Doctors have been played by David Tennant, Christopher Eccleston, Matt Smith, Tom Baker, Peter Capaldi, Paul McGann, Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, Jon Pertwee and going back to the 60s William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton.
Indeed, the last incarnation of the Doctor – Jodie Whittaker – fought the Sea Devils beneath GEMflos in 2022.
At Power Gems, Tom Baker is the Doctor. For the entire time between 1974 and 1979, we hid behind the sofa, too scared to watch the Time Lord fight the Daleks and the Cybermen. The show was a mainstay of Saturday evening viewing, broadcast by the BBC, in a decade which saw the start of colour broadcasting (15 Nov 1969). By 1975, 11 million were tuning in to see the Doctor’s massive multi-coloured scarf flap as he defeated an enemy with one major weakness – the Daleks couldn’t go upstairs (which never detracted from the fear).
Now grown up, many with children or grandchildren of our own, the future seems much safer, as the Doctor thwarts baby-eating goblins. The goblins released a Christmas single, which says it all.
The GEMflo has been used in other productions from Doctor Who, such as The School for Good & Evil, Inside Man and Devil’s Hour.
Also, Power Gems retrofit fluorescent fixtures for All Creatures Great and Small
GEMflo Key features
• Superior colour rendering – high CRI >95
• Fully dimmable – no shift in colour temperature
• Manual and DMX control
• Versatile light for green screen applications
• Economical solution for wide area lighting
Interested in taming your goblins? Get in touch. We have a Power Gems for every gremlin in the lighting system.
Still hiding behind the sofa? It’s safe to come out now. No really.
