I think this makes sense from Fox's viewpoint. They've got a hit or miss show that's probably a niche show so they're going to put it into a slot with little competition. If it grabs ratings they can shift it into one of the more competitive time slots and if it nose dives it can go to the real Friday night crypt.
No, it doesn't, and that's why we all know that guy from Fox is lying through his teeth. Behold; it's all about ECONOMICS.
Ratings determine how much commercials cost. Commercials pay for the show. If the money from the commercials cannot pay for the show's cost, or if the profit margin isn't high enough, the show gets canceled.
Dollhouse is a scripted show, on top of that an SF show with elaborate sets and special effects.
That makes it a VERY EXPENSIVE show. A very expensive show, needs at least decent ratings to get a big enough profit margin the suits and the share holders they have to report can justify putting the show on the air.
Putting a VERY EXPENSIVE show in a time slot, where by definition it will have to be a major hit just to get decent ratings; is killing it on before hand. The people who will make the decision to axe this show, aren't going to care whether not is in a death slot.
All they care about is the bottom line. They look at the cost of the show, look at what they can ask for the commercials, do a little substraction, and if the number is negative or not big enough - they order their underlings to get them the axe they'l be using on it.
It could be argued that FOX dont think they'll get decent ratings and make enough money back from the show no matter what timeslot they put it in, so are putting it in more of a "graveyard" slot to free up better slots for shows they think will give higher ratings and more money.
Which is still "Economics" as you put it.