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'''Ronald "Ron" Swanson''' is a fictional character in the [[NBC]] comedy ''[[Parks and Recreation]]''. He is the former husband of two women, both named Tammy, and is [[Leslie Knope]]'s deadpan superior as the head of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department. He is portrayed by [[Nick Offerman]]. He slowly became a fan favorite and has been called the show's [[breakout character]] by critics. Swanson is a [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] and tries to make the Parks Department as ineffective as possible, preferring non-caring or inept employees like [[April Ludgate]] and [[Tom Haverford]]. However, Swanson is shown to have deep appreciation for Knope's passion and work ethic. |
'''Ronald "Ron" Fucking Swanson'''<ref>''Parks and Recreation'' Season 2 episode 2 "The Stakeout", Universal Studios Home Entertainment</ref> is a fictional character in the [[NBC]] comedy ''[[Parks and Recreation]]''. He is the former husband of two women, both named Tammy, and is [[Leslie Knope]]'s deadpan superior as the head of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department. He is portrayed by [[Nick Offerman]]. He slowly became a fan favorite and has been called the show's [[breakout character]] by critics. Swanson is a [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] and tries to make the Parks Department as ineffective as possible, preferring non-caring or inept employees like [[April Ludgate]] and [[Tom Haverford]]. However, Swanson is shown to have deep appreciation for Knope's passion and work ethic. |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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Revision as of 23:22, 2 June 2011
| Ron Swanson | |
|---|---|
| File:Ron Swanson.jpg | |
| First appearance | "Pilot" |
| Portrayed by | Nick Offerman |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Duke Silver |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Director of the Pawnee City Department of Parks and Recreation |
| Family | Tammy Swanson (Mother) |
| Spouse | Tammy Swanson (2nd Wife, divorced), Tammy Swanson (1st Wife, divorced) |
Ronald "Ron" Fucking Swanson[1] is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is the former husband of two women, both named Tammy, and is Leslie Knope's deadpan superior as the head of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department. He is portrayed by Nick Offerman. He slowly became a fan favorite and has been called the show's breakout character by critics. Swanson is a libertarian and tries to make the Parks Department as ineffective as possible, preferring non-caring or inept employees like April Ludgate and Tom Haverford. However, Swanson is shown to have deep appreciation for Knope's passion and work ethic.
Background
Ron Swanson was born on May 6th and has been Director of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department for six years.[2] Ron, a libertarian, believes in the elimination of government waste and has always brought the department in under budget.[2] Ron believes government should be privatized and the parks department follow the business model of the Chuck E. Cheese's family entertainment chain.[3]
He has closed many unnecessary recreational spaces during his tenure, including the Portola Skate Park, the Grice Dog Run, the Morris-Easton Observatory, the Mohanga Native American Heritage Center, and most public drinking fountains.[2] Ron has been married three times, twice to the same woman. Both of his ex-wives are named Tammy, which is also the name of Ron's mother. He is usually non-confrontational and gives Leslie a lot of leeway when running the department, both because he respects her greatly and because she loves to take on tasks he abhors, like holding meetings and planning future budgets.
He jokingly keeps a claymore and a sawed off shotgun on his desk, so people who ask for things have to stare down the barrel.[4] He enjoys woodworking, dark-haired women, breakfast foods, and the works of Ayn Rand.[2] Ron is an avid hunter and fisherman and secretly moonlights as a jazz saxophonist named "Duke Silver".[5] He also has a self described strong tolerance for alcoholic beverages and is a connoisseur of well-prepared steaks. Swanson's love of meat has been a recurring gag in several episodes. However, almonds give him "the squirts."
Storyline
Season one
Ron originally does not want to approve Leslie's bid to fill in a construction pit and turn it into a park because he is so opposed to government interference, he does not believe the parks department should build parks. However, he is convinced to green-light the project when city planner Mark Brendanawicz cashes in an unspecified favor.[6] Ron attempts to leave government employment and take a job offer that was previously offered to him at an Internet flower company web site, but when he finds the business is doing extremely poorly, he sadly realizes he will be in his government job for a long time.[7][8] He has a poster of Bobby Knight in his office (which was replaced by a generic image of a woman in Season 2 due to copyright issues).
Season two
Ron discovers his coworker Tom Haverford's green card marriage with Wendy, but agrees to keep his secret, especially after Tom discovers Ron secretly moonlights as a nightclub jazz musician.[5] When Pawnee implements a policy requiring public officials to deal more directly to the public, Ron deems it "my hell", and hires parks intern April Ludgate to serve as his personal assistant to protect him from the citizens.[9] At the end of the season, Ron starts a relationship with Wendy, upsetting Tom.
Season three
In the opening episode of the third season Ron coaches a basketball team and is seeing Wendy, upsetting Tom who happens to be officiating his team's game. His coaching style is very similar to that of Bobby Knight. Throughout the season, Swanson establishes for the audience a clear vision on his management style, unveils the Swanson Pyramid of Greatness, tells tales of his favorite restaurant (Mulligan's Steak House), and loses all of his facial hair in an unfortunate mishap during a celebration of life for miniature horse Lil Sebastian.
Duke Silver
Ron Swanson has an alter-ego named Duke Silver, who works as a jazz musician and has at least three albums out. He tries to keep his alter-ego a secret from his coworkers, but Tom, April and Mark all know about Duke Silver. Duke Silver seems to be fairly popular, April even saying that her mother has all of his albums and that she recognized him the first time she saw him.
His albums are Smooth as Silver (2004), Hi Ho Duke (2007), and Memories... Of Now (2009).
Development
The character traits of Ron Swanson were inspired by a real-life Libertarian elected official that producer Michael Schur encountered in Burbank who favored as little government interference as possible and admitted, "I don't really believe in the mission of my job. ... I'm aware of the irony."[10] Many aspects of Ron's character are based on those of Nick Offerman in real life, such as his woodworking abilities and saxophone-playing. Schur has also compared Ron to a "19th-century rugged individualist".[11] Actress Megan Mullally, the real-life wife of Nick Offerman, was cast as Ron's ex-wife Tammy in the episode "Ron and Tammy".[12]
Reception
Nick Offerman received considerable praise for his performance as Ron Swanson during the second season. Many reviewers praised Offerman's subtle and understated style of comedy, and said he was often the funniest part of the scenes he was in.[13][14][15][16] Jonah Weiner of Slate magazine declared Swanson "Parks and Recreation's secret weapon".[13]
References
- ^ Parks and Recreation Season 2 episode 2 "The Stakeout", Universal Studios Home Entertainment
- ^ a b c d http://www.pawneeindiana.com/parks-and-recreation/staff.shtml
- ^ Lloyd, Robert (2009-04-09). ""Parks and Recreation": The Amy Poehler vehicle "Parks and Recreation" is a charming sapling that just may take root". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
- ^ http://www.tv.com/parks-and-recreation/ron-and-tammy/episode/1306083/recap.html?tag=episode_recap;recap
- ^ a b Fog, Henning (2009-10-09). ""Parks and Recreation" recap: Dirty little secrets". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2009-05-14). "Parks and Recreation, "Rock Show": Reviewing the season finale". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ Parks & Recreation: Season One (Film (DVD)). Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Event occurs at Deleted Scenes: Canvassing.
{{cite AV media}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Parks and Recreation - Canvassing: Ron's Rude Awakening". NBC. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
- ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (January 15, 2010). ""Parks and Recreation" recap: Will Arnett can see your insides". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ Martin, Denise (2009-11-18). "Making bureaucracy work: How NBC's "Parks and Recreation" overcame bad buzz". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
- ^ Heisler, Steve (March 24, 2011). "Interview: Michael Schur". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ^ Heisler, Steve (2009-11-05). "Parks and Recreation: "Ron And Tammy"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ a b Weiner, Jonah (2009-12-02). "You really should be watching NBC's Parks and Recreation". Slate. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ "Q+A with Nick Offerman: Former Altar Boy, Current Carpenter, Ron "F-ing" Swanson". GQ. 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2009-11-05). "Parks and Recreation, "Ron and Tammy": Megan Mullally guests". The Star-Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ Angus, Kat (2009-11-06). "Friday Casualties: Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, Gossip Girl and more". Dose. Retrieved 2010-01-01.