BANGOR, Maine (CNN/WABI) -- While Lt. Commander Dustin Smiley is deployed overseas, his wife and kids invite a new guest to fill his seat at the dinner table. A unique guest this week was able to bring along a special message.
Owen, Ford, and Lindell Smiley are huge Star Wars fans. The guest for this week's dinner with the Smiley's. It's a pretty cool guest to invite to the table, but even R2D2 can't compare.
The creator of this R2D2 replica, Paul Bussiere, pulled a few strings and was able to surprise the family and bring Lt. Commander Smiley to life in his own living room. Bussiere says, "I had seen the other things that her other guest had done, and I wanted to do something a little special, unusal."
Paul took a video clip that Smiley sent him, fashioned it into a hologram design, and projected it through R2D2 almost like a scene from Star Wars. His son Owen says, "At first, when it was all still shaping into dad, I was like, 'What is going on?' Then, I realized, 'Oh, my gosh. That's dad.'"
Next week's dinner guest is still a surprise, but it looks like R2D2 will be a tough act to follow.