Short Circuits: 'Last Resort' on video, Shatoetry app, portable speaker

In the canceled TV show "Last Resort" — now available as a complete series on DVD (Sony, $39) — the crew of a military submarine takes an unusual stand when mysterious forces appear to use the crew to start a major confrontation.

Andre Braugher plays the ship's commander who, rather than being the catalyst for unwarranted death and ­destruction, leads his crew to a remote island to regroup and try to solve the mystery.

The series starts strong but slowly fades as the submarine crew tries to deal with internal and external problems. Even the generally dependable Braugher has trouble keeping this series afloat because of all the holes in the script.

Newsday

Out Tuesday

Movies: "Between Us," "Black Rock," "Cloudburst," "The Demented," "Filly Brown," "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox," "Space Warriors," "Under the Bed."

TV: "Amor Bravio," "The Angry Beavers" (full series), "Banshee" (Season 1), "Kendra on Top" (Season 1), "Meet the Small Potatoes," "Teen Beach Movie," "Touched by an Angel" (Season 8).

There are no limits to the universe or William Shatner. He's now the star of a new app called Shatoetry (99 cents for Android and iOS; www.shatoetry.com). That's a hybrid of "Shatner" and "poetry," and although it doesn't quite have a melodic ring, you'll soon understand the madness of it.

The app lets you create statements, comments, messages, sentences, phrases, haiku, poetry or just a jumble of random words that you'll be able to hear Shatner perform for you. That's right: You write it, and he will speak it.

There's a word tray to inspire you with some of the thousands of words Shatner recorded for the app. When you find a word you like, drag it to the Compose field. Vary the drama by controlling the tempo, word emphasis and Shatner's famous pregnant pause.

When your Shatism is complete, hit the "Shat that!" button, and you'll hear Shatner perform it. Then you can share it on social media against a portrait of you-know-who.

ST. Louis Post-Dispatch

The 2.5-inch rounded speaker is just 7 inches long, so it's built for portability with a 15-hour battery inside.

After you make your Bluetooth wireless connection, there's nothing to do but crank up the volume.

You can even connect two UE Booms, using the UE Boom app (free for iOS and Android devices). This allows the pair to play in traditional left/right stereo or stereo-to-stereo modes.

The top of the speaker has a microUSB port for charging, a clip to hang the speaker and a 3.5-millimeter input.

The speaker is designed with a specially developed water- and stain-resistant acoustic skin — but it's not waterproof.