I haven't completely finished the series, so it would be unfair to post my review yet, but at the moment I have a fairly good idea of why it failed; it just doesn't stand out. As a sci-fi, it fails to garner enough niche appeal because it doesn't go deep enough into the premise, and as a piece of broad entertainment, the thriller action isn't distinctive enough to be appealing on a superficial level. I agree it would have been better served on a smaller, niche channel like syfy, but it would ultimately sink into obscurity on there instead.
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As far as I know, a producer in Whedon's position doesn't choose networks. He might pitch the pilot, but at the end of the day, he's trying to get a customer. There's not much network-picking, it's more show-picking.
illegitematus non carborundum est
I actually did some more research, and it looks kind of like Whedon's hands were tied if he wanted to have Eliza Dushku in it, as she was contracted for 3 shows on FOX. That was a goof on my part. I still maintain, however, that had something allowed this show to be made on a different network, it would've been successful. While I do agree that the action was never a highlight of the show (not that it was ever meant to be), I personally disagree that it didn't go deep enough into the premise. If you haven't reached Season 2 yet, there's an episode (directed by Jonathan Frakes no less) that explores how some Dolls are chosen, and it was brilliant, and did really explore some of the inner workings of the premise. I can't say any more without spoilers, but it's a fantastic episode, and it really highlights some of the grey areas of morality the Dollhouse operates at. For me at least, it was a fantastic show, and while I'm sad it was cancelled, I'm glad they managed to do as much with it as they did.
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Why did this fail?
At a first glance, Dollhouse's story is a Firefly retread. A show with a promising premise gets moved around a lot, and as a result gets a low viewership, and gets cancelled. Executive Meddling strikes again. But if one looks harder, it becomes clear this story isn't entirely accurate. The pilot was not very strong, and the reshoot did feel necessary. While the villain-of-the-week plots didn't always work, once the sixth episode rolled around, FOX let Whedon really do his thing and take the show to some interesting places. The last episode of the season contractually could not be aired. And most telling of all, it got a second season. FOX was trying. So where did it go wrong? Quite frankly, I believe the decision that killed the show was actually Whedon's: he tried to air it on a major network.
FOX, NBC, CBS, and ABC all are mainstream channels with mainstream shows. But Dollhouse was never a mainstream show. It was a unique, thoughtful examination of morality, corruption, and of course, the human identity. It was not a show the mainstream audience would get early enough to keep it afloat. It was a genre show, made for fans of that genre. If Whedon had taken the show to a different channel, say, Showtime, HBO, or even Syfy, it might have stood a chance. But he made the mistake of trying to appeal to the wrong crowd. Now, I'm sure there were probably some regular people who liked the show, but not nearly enough. Whedon could've gotten a very successful show, but he took it to the wrong place.
Now, don't mistake this as me saying Dollhouse wasn't good, or Whedon's a bad writer. Far from it, this show is mostly genius, and Whedon is my favorite creator/writer/director in media. But that doesn't mean he's infallible.
Still, despite Whedon's poor choice of network, this is a fabulous show. It's engaging, smart, heartfelt, surprising, funny, in short, it's got everything good about a Joss Whedon work. Despite its short length, this show is a masterpeice, and one that no Cyberpunk fan should miss. It's just a shame that one bad choice killed it so quickly.