Thomas Montgomery "Tom" Haverford, born Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani, is a
character on the series Parks and Recreation. He is a sarcastic,
underachieving government official for the city of Pawnee who—in his own
mind—is revered for his high levels of confidence and unmatched entrepreneurial
skills. Background
Thomas Montgomery Haverford is an Indian American, who changed his name from
Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani to be more appealing in politics. He is often
assumed to be an immigrant by much of the Parks and Recreation staff, though,
as he frequently reminds them, he hails from South Carolina, as does Ansari. He
works as Leslie Knope's immediate subordinate at the Pawnee parks and
recreation department, often serving as her right-hand man. Tom displays an
extremely sarcastic, mischievous and cocky attitude, and frequently attempts
to secure favors from local contractors. Tom has demonstrated his talent and
passion for entrepreneurship in many occasions, including Entertainment 720,
Rent-A-Swag, and Tom's Bistro. He takes his appearance very seriously,
often donning office-casual polo shirts, as well as fitted suits with boat shoes.
He also buys clothing from the boys' collection at Brooks Brothers. In "Go
Big or Go Home," Tom also boasted about ladies' sneakers he bought from his
workplace during Pawnee's government shutdown. Though it is not explicitly
said, it's assumed Tom worked at Lady Foot Locker, where his best friend
Jean-Ralphio Saperstein has a job too. He later opens up his own luxurious
clothing-rental store for growing teens, Rent-A-Swag, and employs Jean-Ralphio's
sister Mona Lisa Saperstein. Tom married his Canadian-born college friend Wendy
to secure her U.S. citizenship. Despite the marriage, Tom aggressively flirts
with other women, which has prompted confusion from people unfamiliar with
his arrangement with Wendy. He is constantly pursuing women even during
his marriage, as far as going to strip clubs, hitting on Ann Perkins,
distributing copies of his house keys to beautiful women, and judging at the Miss
Pawnee pageant. Tom has complete authority over the
Pawnee tennis court reservation system, which has brought him into close contact
with many attractive female tennis enthusiasts. Tom’s heroes include Tiger
Woods, Vin Diesel, Michael Bolton, Flo Rida, Patrick Jane, Paul Walker, and
Jamie Foxx. He has a very high image of himself and brags that people view him
as a "Brown Superman with a Beard" and has also asked to be introduced as "The
Brown Gosling". He is very appreciative of pop culture and the idea of 'swag',
very often expressed in his vernacular. Tom often teams with April Ludgate and
sometimes Donna Meagle to prank and harass Jerry Gergich. He also finds Ben
Wyatt an easy target of tease. Storyline
= Season one = Tom appears lackadaisical about his work
at the parks department and regularly undermines Leslie. He plays online
Scrabble against his superior, Ron Swanson, during work time and loses on
purpose in order to further his career. Ron, who believes in as little
government interference as possible, approvingly states of Tom, "He doesn’t
do a lot of work around here. He shows zero initiative. He’s not a team player.
He never wants to go that extra mile. Tom is exactly what I’m looking for in a
government employee." Tom is often chosen to go on field projects with
Leslie. He is also known for abusing his small amount of public power for
self-benefit. Tom studies the culture of pickup artists and engages in a practice
he calls "peacocking", which involves finding a visual element that makes him
stand out in public like a peacock. In one such date, he wears a woman's orange
hat, which others find ridiculous. = Season two =
Ron discovers Tom's arranged marriage with Wendy, but agrees to keep it
secret, especially after Tom discovers Ron secretly moonlights as a nightclub
jazz musician. Tom and Wendy get a divorce shortly after she gets her
citizenship. Although he initially appears fine, Tom realizes he did in
fact harbor feelings for Wendy and regrets the parting. At the end of
Season 2, Tom meets Lucy, a bartender at the Snake Hole Lounge. As of the finale,
the two are dating. = Season three =
At the beginning of Season 3, Tom is seen working at an apparel store as a
sales associate while the government is on furlough. Lucy eventually breaks up
with him, and reveals that their relationship ended because Tom spent too
much time talking about his ex-wife's relationship with Ron Swanson. As an
attempt to exact revenge on Ron, Tom brings Ron's ex-wife Tammy as a date to
an event organized by the Parks department. The night ends in chaos with
Ron and Tammy being arrested and getting married. It is later revealed in the
episode "Indianapolis" that Tom has created his own cologne scent called
"Tommy Fresh". In the season finale, Tom quits his job at the Parks Department to
work at Entertainment 720 with Jean-Ralphio.
= Season four = Tom begins working at Entertainment 720
and offers the shoeshinist at city hall, Andy Dwyer, a job, which Andy turns
down. Entertainment 720 goes bankrupt due to their massive overspending and no
business model and Tom decides to throw one last party which Lucy attends and he
confesses to her that he is broke and jobless. Ron tries to persuade Tom to
take his old job back, departing from Tom's early storyline by saying he does
his job well and keeps the bosses off Ron's back, but doesn't overachieve to
the point where the Parks department is tasked to do extra assignments. Tom
initially refuses but eventually agrees. After his joking style made Ann Perkins
smile at a Valentine's Day party, she decides to meet him for a date which his
antics immediately made her regret. However, after several fits and starts,
Tom has convinced Ann to keep seeing him, even though he's oblivious to her
disgust at allowing herself to do so. = Season five =
Tom finally begins what appears to be a reputable business, based off an idea he
came up with during a fundraiser for Jerry in "Halloween Surprise". The idea,
aptly titled "Rent-a-Swag" is to rent his own high-end clothing to middle
school boys whose mothers don't want to constantly be buying them new articles
of clothing through puberty that they will grow out of quickly.
= Season six = Tom learns that Jean-Ralphio's dad, Dr.
Saperstein, is his business competitor, and struggles to keep Rent-a-Swag
afloat, before finally giving in and selling Rent-a-Swag. He tries to focus
on his job, helping Leslie get fluoride added to the water in Pawnee, and
helping to set up the unity concert. While assisting Nadia Stasky, a
beautiful and humorous doctor, at the Parks and Recreation office, Tom
attempts to woo her and she later agrees to go out with him. The two pursue a
relationship, and before leaving on a business trip to Rwanda, Nadia agrees to
call him when she returns. During a meeting, Tom meets a man who likes his
ideas and helps him jump-start his idea for a restaurant, Tom's Bistro.
= Season seven = Now in 2017, Tom's Bistro has become
very successful. After reuniting with his ex-girlfriend Lucy, he convinces her
to move from Chicago to Pawnee and work at the Bistro. Shortly thereafter, they
begin dating and he eventually proposes to her, which she accepts. In a series
of flash-forwards in the finale, it is shown that Tom loses a great amount of
money after unsuccessfully attempting to franchise Tom's Bistro. However, he
later becomes a success again by writing a book about his many failures and how
others may be able to achieve success. Critical reception
Aziz Ansari, who was particularly acclaimed during the first season for
his role as Tom Haverford, received similar praise in the second season as
well. Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with The Star-Ledger,
described Tom as the funniest of the characters during the first season, and
Jonah Weiner of Slate.com, who was critical of the first season, said Tom
was "the brightest spot." Paste ranked him No. 10 in their list of the 20 Best
Characters of 2011. An entire website, Tom Haverfoods, was dedicated to his
character that displayed variations on his "food slang" as seen in the episode
"Soulmates." References