While the premium-cable behemoth once again captured the most Emmy nominations of any single network - 85 - AMC's "Mad Men," an edgy period drama on a basic-cable network that until recently was best known for old movies, yesterday received 16, the most for any series on cable, placing it second only to NBC's "30 Rock" in the series balloting.

HBO's miniseries "John Adams" led the overall field, with 23 nominations, including acting nods for Paul Giamatti, who played Adams, and Laura Linney, who played Abigail Adams.

Upper Darby's Tina Fey was once again nominated for lead actress in a comedy for "30 Rock." The show, which she also created and which last year won the Emmy for comedy, was also nominated, along with Fey's performance as a guest host last season on her former show, NBC's "Saturday Night Live."

But it was tiny AMC, whose hopeful publicists were gathered in a knot yesterday for the usual predawn wait in the lobby of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and who could later be heard squealing during the announcements, that probably made the biggest splash.

Besides "Mad Men's" showing, which included a nomination for outstanding drama and one for lead actor Jon Hamm, there were four nominations for "Breaking Bad," including an acting nomination for Bryan Cranston, who starred as a high school teacher turned meth dealer in a show that once would have been unimaginable on a network like AMC.

FX, another basic-cable network that's been challenging HBO in the quality of its series in recent years, received 11 nominations, including its first outstanding series nomination, for "Damages," along with nominations for Glenn Close, Ted Danson and Zeljko Ivanek.

Asked about basic cable's showing, John Solberg, FX senior vice president for media relations, suggested the writers strike might have had some effect. With broadcast schedules upset, "it gave cable some momentum" in terms of awareness, even if the nominations are technically based on the submission of a single episode, he said.

A change in the nominations process, which now employs blue-ribbon panels, might also have made it easier for smaller networks that have fewer academy members, he added, since bloc voting goes on in the popular vote, considered to be a huge advantage for larger companies, including HBO.

This is the first year since 1998, Solberg noted, that HBO has been shut out of the outstanding-drama category. Still, he hinted, AMC might have benefited a bit from the novelty factor.

"Four or five shows from now, AMC's going to be in the same position that we're in and that HBO is in, in that the scrutiny is that much higher," he said.

Showtime, too, might be included in that club, with five nominations for "Dexter," including nods for star Michael C. Hall and for outstanding drama series.

On the broadcast side, ABC's critical favorite, "Pushing Daisies," was the second-most-nominated network show after "30 Rock," receiving 12 nominations, including acting nods for Lee Pace and Kristin Chenoweth, though none for the overall series.

Possibly the largest diss - though hardly a new one - was of the final season of HBO's Baltimore-based drama, "The Wire." Stunningly, it received just one nomination this year, for writing.

The 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast from Los Angeles' Nokia Theater on Sept. 21. *

Ellen Gray is covering the Television Critics Association's summer meetings in Beverly Hills. Read more at go.philly.com/ellengray or send e-mail to graye@phillynews.com.