Image credit: Paramount+
Published Aug 8, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT
John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 5,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises.
Sign in to your ScreenRant account
Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, Episode 3 - "Human Best Friend"
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's The Hangover-inspired comedy episode enlists a famous Canadian comedian as its special guest star. Directed by Yana Gorskaya and written by Kathryn Lyn, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 3, "Human Best Friend" pairs up frenemies Scotty (Martin Quinn) and Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) to solve an absurd shore leave mystery.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' main characters behave unlike themselves, and that's the root of the humor in "Human Best Friends." The intoxicating effects of the resort planet Cesnar unleash the inhibitions of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and the USS Enterprise's alpha shift officers, making the jobs of the hungover Ortegas and Scotty harder.
Naturally, the vacationing crew of the Starship Enterprise was welcomed to Cesnar by a host and master of ceremonies. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds filmed in Toronto and fittingly recruited a local comedy legend to play the hilariously oddball character who tries to show the tightly-wound Starfleet officers the best shore leave possible.
Dave Foley Guest Stars In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 Episode 3
Dave Foley plays Dendru in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4, episode 3, "Human Best Friend." A native of the planet Cesnar, Dendru is the friendly and accommodating host of the Cesnar Grand resort. Dendru also has odd, three-toed feet that bring to mind Neelix's (Ethan Phillips) unsightly tootsies on Star Trek: Voyager.
Toronto native Dave Foley has enjoyed a remarkable career starring in dozens of movies and television series. Foley is best known as one of the founders of the Canadian comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall and its 1996 feature movie, Brain Candy, and for playing Dave Nelson in NewsRadio. Dave also played All-American Boy in Sky High, Troy in Blast From the Past, and more recently, Danish Graves in Fargo, as well as hosting Celebrity Poker Showdown.
Speaking to ScreenRant, Foley described Dendru as "a kind of geeky Hugh Hefner... he wanders around in very loungey clothes and just wants everyone to be happy... He's the facilitator and like the camp activities organizer of this weird planet." Dendru is bound to do whatever guests ask, but he is also wiser than he seems. Like Lieutenant Ortegas, Dendru has faced anger issues and encouraged Erica to find the root cause of her ire.
Dave Foley’s Previous Links To Star Trek Explained
Dave Foley is a lifelong Star Trek fan who grew up loving Star Trek: The Original Series. One of Dave's earliest roles when he was just starting out as an actor was in 1987's Three Men and a Baby. Foley took a day job playing a grocery store clerk, and he was directed by Mr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy.
Paul Guilfoyle also starred in Three Men and a Baby and played "Carl," the human-looking alter ego of The Guardian of Forever, in Star Trek: Discovery season 3.
Foley told ScreenRant that he always wanted to appear in Star Trek, and hoped he could join one of the many Paramount+ Star Trek series. Dave got his wish when he voiced a Ferengi named Parth in Star Trek: Lower Decks' season 4 episode, "Parth Ferengi's Heart Place." Parth was the host of a Ferengi hotel, and turned out to be a precursor to Dendru in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
In "Human Best Friend," Dave Foley's scenes as Dendru were either prerecorded vignettes the Starship Enterprise crew watched on their viewscreens, or opposite Melissa Navia's Ortegas and Martin Quinn's Scotty. However, production photos and clips from the episode show Dendru partying with the Starfleet Officers.
While filming "Human Best Friend," Dave Foley also got to tour the sets of the USS Enterprise, another dream come true for the Star Trek superfan. Since Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the closest modern series to the spirit of Star Trek: The Original Series, Foley was able to live his Star Trek fantasy while embodying an endearing new alien character.
Stardate 47988.1 · Crew Assessment
The Final Frontier
Trivia Challenge
🚀ShipsEnterprise!
⭐CrewMake it so
☠EnemiesResistance is…
⚡TechWarp speed!
📖LoreLive long…
ENGAGE →
01
The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series?
ANCC-1701-D BNX-01 CNCC-1701 DNCC-74656
✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager.
✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager.
NEXT →
02
Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character?
AData BSpock CTuvok DSarek
✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise.
NEXT →
03
Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called?
AThe Temporal Accord BGeneral Order One CThe Omega Directive DThe Prime Directive
✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake.
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols.
NEXT →
04
“Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called?
AThe Borg BThe Dominion CThe Romulans DSpecies 8472
✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.”
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.”
NEXT →
05
Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him?
AWilliam Shatner BAvery Brooks CPatrick Stewart DScott Bakula
✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard.
NEXT →
06
Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called?
ATranswarp Drive BWarp Drive CSlipstream Drive DSpore Drive
✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive.
NEXT →
07
At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called?
AThe Prometheus Trial BThe Omega Simulation CThe Corbomite Maneuver DThe Kobayashi Maru
✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario.
NEXT →
08
In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain?
AKhan Noonien Singh BGeneral Chang CQ DGul Dukat
✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos.
REVEAL MY SCORE →
Mission Complete Your Starfleet Record
/ 8
Are you an Admiral — or still a cadet on deck-scrubbing duty?
↻ RE-ENGAGE
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4's new episodes premiere Thursdays on Paramount+
Release Date 2022 - 2027-00-00
Network Paramount+
Showrunner Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman
Writers Onitra Johnson
English (US) ·