'We show the city in its greatness and its misery,' Katz said. 'The pilot finds these Americans emancipated. They wanted jobs, education, rights to vote, and rights to travel on street cars.'

The period also ushered in a new class of political professionals, pushing out the old Quaker and Protestant establishment.

Katz hopes the pilot will have its viewers wanting more. He's ready to give it to them . . . online.

With such a wealth of rich resources to draw from, some things had to be cut. Katz' filmmaking team made good use of some of that material in eight 'webisodes' - short films that tell another story, a subplot that examines life during the era.

For instance, the first webisode details Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession through Philadelphia and its stop in the city.

You can check out the latest webisode - The Volunteers: The Story of Philadelphia's Firefighters, at www.historyofphilly.com/newsletter/5/volunteers.html

The webisode, featuring photos, documents and illustrations a la PBS filmmaker Ken Burns, details the city's volunteer fire companies from the bucket brigades and Ben Franklin's creation of the first volunteer fire company in 1736; the burning of Pennsylvania Hall; the 1844 nativist riots; and the Moyamensing firefighter/politico William McMullen, who came to the defense of Irish Catholics during those riots and later became a major political player in the city.

The link also includes a podcast discussing Philadelphia's role during the Civil War and featuring an interview with Gov. Ed Rendell, the city's mayor through the 1990s.

Other webisodes will cover topics that include the Great Central Sanitary Fair, Fairmount Park and Camp William Penn.

As of last week, the pilot episode was still being edited. Katz expects that it will be shown in private screenings over the summer, with more public showings this fall.

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*Sam Katz, Exec. Producer, on NBC 10

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