Behind the Scenes

Gregg Kavet & Andy Robin

AGE Both 29
PREVIOUS CREDITS (Robin only) Saturday Night Live, The Martin Short Show
JOB DESCRIPTION This Harvard-groomed writing team—on staff since season 7—excels in creating the George-weasels-out-of-work plots (they thought up his desk-bed in ''The Nap,'' 144). Perhaps it's no surprise: Kavet (top right) spent a year avoiding work at a Boston consulting firm before reuniting with his Lampoon writing buddy Robin. Meanwhile, Robin was cowriting Rob Schneider's copy guy sketches on SNL. Next up, the pair has a deal to develop sitcoms for Castle Rock.
FAVORITE EPISODE ''The Jimmy'' (99), which featured a slurring, drooling Kramer being mistaken for a mentally challenged man. ''We expected to be inundated with hate mail,'' says Robin. But all they got was ''one letter from a woman whose son is mentally challenged saying that the kid loved the episode.''
RELATE TO Kramer. ''He's the only character with a strong sense of conscience,'' says Robin. ''We can't really relate to that, but it's intriguing.''
NIXED PLOTS None that they'll reveal. ''We may be using them'' for their next project, says Robin.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE Making an episode's various subplots converge without seeming contrived. ''It's tough enough trying to think of a story that's funny and real,'' says Kavet.
STOLEN FROM LIFE Robin once went to the beach with a woman who stripped down to her underwear, spawning Sue Ellen Mischke's bra-as-outerwear (116).

Jennifer Crittenden

AGE 28
PREVIOUS CREDITS The Simpsons
JOB DESCRIPTION One of Seinfeld's newest writers, this Wesleyan alum did time with Letterman (earning $100 a joke) and as a Marge-specializing Simpsons writer before joining Seinfeld in 1996. Her niche? ''Gonorrhea stories,'' she deadpans, a reference to Kramer's dose in ''The Burning'' (164). Crittenden, who'll work for The Drew Carey Show next year, says there haven't been any problems fitting into the Seinfeld Boys' Club. ''I don't think anyone's noticed I'm a woman.''
RELATES TO George. ''I share a lot of his paranoia, insecurity, and cynicism,'' she says. Jerry struck a nerve, though, when he said ''People...they're the worst.''
FAVORITE STORY LINE When a horrified Elaine discovers that Puddy is a religious zealot ("The Burning")—a plot that had its genesis when Crittenden found her husband's car radio tuned to a Christian-rock station. ''It was an innocent mistake,'' she swears.
NIXED PLOT A story in which Kramer, instead of exercising, runs everywhere. The rest of the writers ''insisted it was insane, but I know somebody who does that,'' she says.
STOLEN FROM LIFE Elaine's feud with the insolent Putumayo salesgirl (146). The seed was planted when a rude florist refused to sell Crittenden some ribbon.

Alec Berg & Jeff Schaffer

AGE Both 28
PREVIOUS CREDITS Late Night With Conan O'Brien
JOB DESCRIPTION ''Two years ago, I was 26,'' says Schaffer. ''Now I feel like I'm 80.'' No wonder. These Harvard Lampoon-trained whippersnappers had the daunting task of being exec producers in the post-Larry David era. Their specialty, says four-year vet Berg: ''an excellent attendance record.'' That, and such scripts as ''The Calzone'' (123) and ''The Seven'' (117) won them Jerry's favor and the top slot. Post-finale, the duo will ''begin the long, long slide into obscurity and oblivion'' developing sitcoms for DreamWorks.
RELATE TO George. ''All writers are George, because they're always complaining,'' says Schaffer. Conversely, says Berg, ''Jerry dates a lot of women, which is something that none of us can relate to.''
FAVORITE EPISODE ''The Secret Code'' (111)—at least for now. ''I'm very unhappy with most of what we do until two or three years later,'' says Berg. ''Then I look back and say, 'That was pretty good.'''
NIXED PLOT Kramer tries to renovate a bargain skeleton and sell it for a profit. Ironically, says Schaffer, ''Larry [David] hated it. He thought it was creepy and strange.''
BIGGEST CHALLENGE The insane work schedule left little room for real-life experiences that might lead to plotlines. Says Berg, ''The only thing you come up with is 'Jerry sitting in an office in Studio City.'''
STOLEN FROM LIFE Schaffer's brother lived near a hotel with a sleep-depriving neon sign—the inspiration for ''The Chicken Roaster'' (134).