I missed The Real “Match Game” Story: Behind The Blanks on Sunday, but fortunately they re-ran it tonight. “Match Game” was my absolute favorite game show growing up, and I still watch the reruns occasionally on GSN.

The special was interesting — it showed clips of one of the two surviving episodes of the original, black-and-white, 1960s version, which had a completely different format. It featured two teams, each team consisting of a celebrity and two contestants. The team members earned points by matching each other. I knew about that version, but I’d always heard it was completely serious. The special noted that some of the goofy, comic elements of the 1970s “Match Game” were introduced in the last few weeks of the original 1960s format — after the show had already been cancelled. Writer Dick DeBartolo indulged himself and started writing silly questions. Executive producer and game show wizard Mark Goodson consented, figuring that there was nothing the network could do to an already-cancelled show. Ratings actually began to rise, although not enough to save the show from its fate.

By the way, viewers of the late and lamented “Screen Savers” may remember DeBartolo for the “giz wiz” segments in which he showed off new tech gizmos and talked them over with host Leo Laporte. He has also been one of Mad magazine’s most prolific writers.

The 1960s “Match Game” was shot in New York, and when the new six-star version was resurrected in Southern California, DeBartolo was invited to join the writing staff. But he didn’t want to move west, and so Goodson allowed him to stay where he was and send his questions cross-country, where they were supplemented by other writers.

I had never heard the story of Brett Somers’ hiring before, either. Her then-husband, Jack Klugman, was one of the celebrities on the pilot episode of the retooled “Match Game ’73,” and he talked the producers into using her on an upcoming episode.

The special portrayed the show at its peak, and then its decline, due to network interference and the fact that Richard Dawson left to concentrate on his own game show. It also showed stills from the most celebrated failure in game show history, the 1983-1984 “Match Game / Hollywood Squares Hour,” in which Gene Rayburn hosted the Match Game half and Jon “Bowser” Bauman of Sha Na Na hosted the Hollywood Squares half, with each serving as a celebrity panelist while not hosting. It was a disaster which didn’t do justice to either format.

I would love to see an entire episode of this again, not because it was any good, but just because of the can’t-look-away fascination.

The ending of the documentary paid tribute to the classic 1970s version’s longevity by noting its consistent high ratings. One interviewee tells the story of seeing college students — who weren’t even born when the show left the air — in stitches at the reruns.