For decades, the name of the actor who originally played Gordon in the test pilots was unknown even to show's staff. In November 2011, Sesame Workshop launched an online campaign named "The Case of the Missing Gordon", in an effort to identify the actor. Garrett Saunders was finally identified as the original Gordon when his two daughters found out about the search and contacted Sesame Workshop.
The test pilots aired only in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Ernie was the first Muppet to appear on screen for this pilot.