The lack-lustre affair was watched by Luton's lowest crowd of the season and those who stayed away would have been glad of their decision.
The only real action from a torrid game came in injury time when Freddie Eastwood raced clean through for basement club Southend, rounded Dean Kiely, but astonishingly hit the post when faced with an open goal.
Such was the desperate state of affairs for Town that they bizarrely finished the game with defender Leon Barnett and substitute Warren Feeney - without a league goal for a year - up front for the last ten minutes.
That move was made at the expense of leading scorer Rowan Vine, who angrily threw his water bottle to the ground after being replaced before taking his place on the bench next to unused £500,000 striker Adam Boyd.
The unusual tactical decision almost paid off shortly before Eastwood's miss as Barnett saw a ten-yard header tipped over, but the end result was an uninspiring bore draw that did little to ease Town's aim to move away from the relegation zone.
The Hatters named an unchanged team for the second week in a row following a spirited showing in their 2-1 loss to Sunderland last weekend. Southend, meanwhile, made two changes with skipper Kevin Maher returning after a three-match ban and Lewis Hunt coming in at right-back for Che Wilson.
The visitors also included one-time Town target goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan and ex-Hatter Efe Sodje in their starting 11.
Both sides came into the game on the back of wretched long-term runs, Luton having lost eight of their last nine league and cup games and Southend having won just once in the league since August in their last outing against Southampton.
It was Town who had the first opportunity just two minutes in when, on a breakaway from a Shrimpers corner, Vine found David Bell who set off on a 40-yard run before hitting a left-foot shot into the midriff of Flahavan.
Both sides then took their time to settle before Luton attacked again in the 14th minute as Lewis Emanuel intercepted a Jamal Campbell-Ryce pass and found Vine, who cut in from the left past Sodje, but slipped as he attempted to shoot from 16 yards allowing the ball to bobble to Flahavan.
Edwards was next to try his luck four minutes later as he cut out Steven Hammell's attempted clearance from the left-back position before hitting an angled 25-yard drive that Flahavan parried and then collected.
The game continued at a sedate pace with Sodje heading wide from Mark Gower's corner in the 20th minute and Edwards then hitting a left-foot effort wide from 20 yards two minutes later.
Kiely, making his fifth Luton start during his loan move from Portsmouth, had seen little action and almost presented Southend with an opportunity in the 24th minute.
After picking up Lee Bradbury's tame header from Maher's free-kick, he completely fluffed his clearance against a Southend opponent, but quickly recovered to head the ball clear on the edge of the area.
Gower hit a 20-yard effort that Kiely held at the second attempt in the 25th minute and Maher drove wide seconds later.
But with both sides looking woefully short of inspiration, the highlight of the half came when referee's assistant Steve Rubery had to be replaced due to injury.
As the half petered out Eastwood turned Markus Heikkinen in the 40th minute and saw his 20-yard shot spilled by Kiely.
Three minutes before the break Vine swivelled and sent a right-foot shot just past the post after a cross from Emanuel on the left.
Town tried to step up the pace after the interval and had a strong penalty appeal turned down just two minutes into the second period. Bell did well to cross from the left and, after Brkovic nudged the ball on, Vine shot only to see the ball deflect off the prone Sodje's hand.
Hatters' penalty appeals were ignored though as referee Nigel Miller gave the defender the benefit of the doubt.
Vine then missed perhaps Luton's best chance of the night in the 51st minute as the busy Bell found Brkovic, who mis-controlled only for the ball to squirt out to Vine, who fired wide left-footed from 14 yards with just Flahavan to beat.
The play from both sides didn't get any better, but Southend's highly-rated forward Eastwood did produce one moment of class just before the hour that was completely out of place from the rest of the action.
There didn't seem much danger for Town as the striker collected Gower's pull-back 30 yards out, but he unleashed a screaming right-footed drive that bounced away off the top of the Luton bar.
The game limped along again until visiting midfielder Alan McCormack spurned a great opportunity for the Shrimpers in the 71st minute when he ran into the area on to Eastwood's pass only to wastefully curl high and wide from 15 yards.
Barnett saw his header tipped over in the 88th minute from Foley's right-wing cross, but it was Southend who should have won the game as Eastwood - looking suspiciously offside - ran clean through and rounded Kiely only to hit the post.