Chicago Tribune TV critic Maureen Ryan, who keeps readers up to date at The Watcher blog, has long had what we might consider Best Job Ever.

And she proves every day why she deserves it. Ryan has been a champion for all the right TV shows — from “Veronica Mars” to “The Wire” — and when she latches onto a good one, she doesn’t let go.

Even by Ryan’s standards, however, she went above and beyond this week as she turned a recent trip to Austin, Texas into a jaw-dropping “‘Friday Night Lights’ Extravaganza.”

Many of us are doing our part to keep the NBC series from being cancelled after a stunning debut season, but no one can match Ryan’s thoroughness. The “extravaganza” includes a full story of “the show’s innovative creative process” — as well as 11 separate interviews (yep, 11) with all major cast members, producers, writers and even NBC entertainment president Kevin Reilly. Plus there’s a post on what to do to try to save the show.

It’s an act you rarely see critics perform — marshalling all of their available resources (OK, and their company’s resources) to make the case for a quality television series.

Ryan asked Reilly to characterize “FNL’s” chances for renewal, and this was his response: “Well, it depends if you want me to put my emotional hat on, my lover of TV hat on — it’s 100 percent. If you want me to put my business hat on, it’s 55 percent. Let all those factors weigh in, and [its chances] are somewhere in between.”

I’m looking at the “Freaks and Geeks” Season 1 box set right now — yes, the only season — and hoping I won’t have to add “FNL” to the shelf reserved for Greatest One-Season Wonders.