Philly woman looks for love - in Seattle

Jennifer Ketz seems like a smart woman, with degrees from Moravian College and Villanova University and a job as administration coordinator, way up high in the Comcast building, where she works on the same floor with big boss Brian Roberts.

So why in the world would she try to get on Holidate, a cable TV reality dating show?

"I love adventure," she says. "This looked like a huge, awesome adventure for me, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

The idea of the show is that women might have a better chance of finding true love in a new environment. So two of them swap cities for a few days and go on three dates, each with men selected by the other.

And you know what? Jen's adventure in Seattle, which you can see tonight on cable's SOAPnet at 10, turned out to be just that.

No humiliation, no embarrassment, no editing to make her seem like a dope or a witch or a slut. In fact, all eight of the folks featured in this episode come off as caring, articulate, well-grounded young adults who can keep their hands to themselves while having fun and satisfying first dates.

What kind of reality show is this?

Apparently, it's supposed to be sensitive and sincere, on a Disney-owned channel that's kinder and gentler than, say, Bravo or TLC or the MTV networks, where freaks and fits abound, and viewers and the phonies in front of the cameras seem to revel in the degradation.

"At first I was very worried about looking stupid," said Jen, who was picked out of a pool of hundreds of Philadelphians, according to a SOAPnet spokesman. "I asked everybody. They were so personable and friendly, and I totally trusted everything they said."

Uh-oh. We are talking about reality show producers, aren't we?

"It would have been stupid for them to have picked me if they were going for trashy people dancing on bars," says Jen. "Plus, I figured if I don't say anything ridiculous or act ridiculous, they won't have much to go with."

But what about the guys the show produces for your dates?

"That was one of the things that I was really afraid of, that they would throw in a sleazy guy for entertainment, and I wouldn't know how to deal with him. . . . I'm not a first-date kisser whatsoever. . . . I hope nobody tries, because I'm just going to run in the other direction."

Nobody kisses anybody (on camera, at least) in tonight's episode in which Jen, whom the producers do portray as a bit of a wide-eyed country girl, sick of high-pressure Philadelphia men who care only about money and status, trades places with Nicki from Seattle, who has just gone through a divorce and hasn't dated for nine years.

Jen goes kayaking on Lake Union, throws fish at the Pike Place Market, rides to the top of the Space Needle, and has dinner at Canlis, an elegant, old-line Seattle restaurant. Nicki takes a horse-drawn carriage ride through Old City, visits Camden's Adventure Aquarium, and dines at the Waterworks.

You'll have to tune in to see if they find love with any of their dates. Jen, a practical gal born and raised in little Canadensis, deep in the Poconos, isn't talking. She's trying to keep a low profile, though maybe she should have thought about that before listening to her friend, who does casting for the show, and signing up.

"Everybody at work is watching this, including David Cohen," she says, referring to another floor-mate, the longtime Philadelphia power broker who's now executive vice president at Comcast. "Please don't let me lose my job over this."

Not a problem. After tonight's episode, she'd get a raise at most places (are you listening, Messrs. Cohen and Roberts?), and it won't be surprising if she gets a few phone calls from local guys, either.