WWDD about falling ratings?

What would Don Draper do if his ratings fell off 45% from his show's season 2 premiere?

Maybe a more apropos question is, what would past Emmy winner/current Emmy nominee Matthew Weiner do?

And the answer, we hope, is to stay the course for "Mad Men," which means continuing to create one of the most engaging dramas on TV today.

There's been a lot of tittering this week about the steep slide in ratings after a surge of more than 2 million people tuned in for this season's launch. The marked increase, more than double the viewership from the freshman season, in all likelihood could be attributed to the boatload of Emmy nominations the show had just received and all the press attention around those. Add to that an estimated $25 million in marketing that AMC shelled out to embed Draper and his Sterling Cooper world in the pop culture frontal lobe, and that equals one fine launch.

Cable overall is basking in the glow of another healthy summer. So why aren't people sticking around for more "Mad Men?"

Let's be clear about something -- there's been no bait and switch. The marketing promised, and the show delivers. So far, this season of "Mad Men" is every inch the fascinating character-driven story that hooked us in the first place.

Sorry AMC, but it's destined to be a critical darling, not a mass enterprise. It's niche, and we're not saying that like it's a bad thing.

But please, everybody, stop making the "Arrested Development" comparisons and let's just see what happens come Emmy night. We're beginning to sense a romp, swingin' '60s style.