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.

Ricky Schroder's character on 24 -- CTU agent Mike "The Brawler" Doyle -- is "a dark guy who feels like a killer inside," the actor told the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Schroder described Doyle as someone who lives for his job, has "no personal life," is "ruthless" and doesn't care who he hurts. (Kind of like Jack Bauer, only, without the heart that Jack sometimes exhibits to children and women who are romantically interested in him.)

Schroder, who played a cop on NYPD Blue, said the sets have similar atmospheres. "On NYPD Blue, it was relentless, the pressure . . . [24] is a much more organized kind of environment. But the intensity is similar."

I'm still waiting to find out what his character did in Denver to which everyone, including Nadia Yassir and Milo Pressman, keeps referring.

*Spoilers from the latest episode ahead*

While I greatly missed Chloe O'Brian in this episode -- blink and you missed her -- and longed for more screen time for Jack Bauer, there were still moments of amusement in the sixteenth hour to behold:

Quote of note: Chloe's three-week winning streak in this category was broken as she barely appeared in this episode. (I choose to believe that she was busy re-charging her Taser for use in a future hour.) So the quote of note award this week goes to President Wayne Palmer who, in a nod toward irony, said in a cabinet meeting while struggling to remain conscious, "I'm in complete possession of my faculties."

Um, I'm not so sure of that Mr. President.

*If you haven't watched this week's 24, don't read this post. Period.*

While I'm still recovering from my dire disappointment over a Logan-less 24 hour -- following on the heels of last week's fruit-filled episode -- here are four moments to muse until the next installment of the Jack Bauer hour:

Quote of note: Chloe O'Brian wins this category again this week. (This gal gets some of the best lines.) When Chloe unceremoniously locked lips with her ex, Morris "Drill Bit" O'Brian, in the middle of CTU, he asked her why she kissed him. "Just checking your breath," she replied, nonchalantly, confirming that Morris hadn't been hitting the bottle. At least not recently.

So the 24 writers are trying to create an air of mystery around Ricky Schroder's new character . . . er, brawler/tough guy Mike Doyle.

(*Fair warning, spoilers*) Brought into CTU during the 13th episode as the new head of field ops, Doyle wasted no time ruffling feathers, harshly ordering people around and wrenching a staffer by the neck for not working fast enough.

Then there was the Denver comment.

Milo Pressman -- still nursing a bullet wound sustained while saving Marilyn Bauer's bacon several episodes ago -- has decided to take on Doyle instead of constantly harassing Morris "Drill Bit" O'Brian. After Doyle's first abrupt CTU meeting, Milo said that he doesn't like Doyle and that he knows him "from Denver."

*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'.

Usually when I report upcoming DVD releases I find the information on TVShowsOnDVD.com, but this time the news comes from Sitcoms Online. Keep in mind this is not an official announcement, but apparently Judith A. Moose, author of Together - A Sitcom Lover's Guide To Silver Spoons, says the DVDs are being produced by Sony Home Entertainment and will include special features and audio commentaries. No word on whether these will be released as seasons or not, but if all of this is true we should be seeing the DVDs sometime this summer. Ah, to see a young Ricky Schroder and Alfonso Ribeiro again. Also, that duck phone was awesome. I always wanted one of those. And a racecar bed. Well, I don't want a racecar bed so much anymore, but the duck phone would still be cool.