Ricky Schroder was once the TV kid everyone wanted to be, riding his indoor train surrounded by cool video games on 'Silver Spoons.' He's also been the kid no one wanted to be, crying at the end of 'The Champ.' Schroder, who goes by Rick now, took a look back at his career on 'Good Day LA' (weekdays, 9AM PT on Fox) and also talked about replacing Jimmy Smits on 'NYPD Blue' and his new CMT movie 'To the Mat.'

"At 9, 'The Champ' came out," he said. "And that's when everything changed in my life." They showed a series of stills from his various projects, including 'Lonesome Dove,' which Schroder credited as a turning point in his career, along with 'NYPD Blue.' "In 'Lonesome Dove' I went from a boy to a man, literally, in the movie" he said.

While 'NYPD Blue' helped Schroder to be taken more seriously as an adult actor, he had the added burden of having to replace the popular Jimmy Smits on the show. "Jimmy Smits was so loved," he said, "and when I got cast as taking over after he left, um, I think a lot of the fans were kind of skeptical, and luckily, I won them over."

'Extract,' the new Mike Judge comedy opening in theaters this weekend, stars Jason Bateman as a bored factory manager. Those of us who grew up on '80s TV are thrilled that former child star Bateman's become such a success as an adult -- especially since we still think of him as Ricky Schroder's rambunctious best friend on 'Silver Spoons.' (Did anyone else watch 'It's Your Move' religiously? Just us?)

It's quite a feat for Bateman to have come this far, as the list of former child stars is littered with tales of drug abuse, DUIs, anorexia, obscurity and death. And then there are those who pop up in the news for doing random things, such as Soleil Moon Frye resurrecting Punky Brewster to celebrate her massive Twitter following.

But why dwell on the negative and the bizarre? Here's a list of 10 formerly famous tykes who bucked the odds and emerged from childhood TV stardom -- often after long periods in which they took time off or struggled to find work -- and became famous adults in their own right. We couldn't be more proud.

*Warning, spoilers ahead*

While a great deal of media attention is focused on the first appearance of Ricky Schroder as CTU agent Mike Doyle on tonight's episode of 24, here are three reasons why the reappearance of the Logans (and Aaron too) can provide a much needed jump-start to reinvigorate season six:

1. Jean Smart. As First Lady Martha Logan last season, she vacillated between being weepy and drugged up, to being fearless. The unsung hero of season five -- who gathered evidence to implicate her treasonous husband, President Charles Logan, even bedding him to keep his suspions at bay -- Martha Logan is, in short, a fantastic character. Smart didn't get nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for nothin'.