The opening of PROBLEM
The PROgressive Biological Life Extension Module (PROBLEM) was a device designed by Jonas Venture Sr. to prolong the life of an individual.
History
After the event that was reported as his death, Jonas Venture was removed from the vacuum of space, but accidentally dropped when members of the original Team Venture slipped on one of Rusty Venture's toy cowboys, shattering Jonas' frozen body. The remaining head of Jonas Venture Sr. was placed within the device, where it was kept alive, unbeknownst to everyone but those members of the original Team Venture. PROBLEM was installed in the command center of the space station Gargantua 1.
When introduced in Careers in Science, it was shown that PROBLEM had been thought to be a vague error indicator with no documentation, and Rusty Venture was summoned to enact repairs upon the station. Shorty after leaving, the light on PROBLEM began blinking again.
Jonas Venture Jr. recovered the device one year before the launch of Gargantua 2 and placed it in the lobby of VenTech Tower as a museum display piece.
During the events of The Venture Bros. & The Curse of the Haunted Problem the disembodied head of Dr. Jonas Venture Sr., locked within the PROBLEM, hacked and controlled the entirety of VenTech Tower. It took him a full year to assume control of the building, but Jonas ultimately performed much more successfully than his earlier attempt to control Gargantua 1, which caused it to crash.
Pete White, in a state of terror concerning the "hack" on VenTech Tower systems, struck PROBLEM with an axe, bisecting the support connections to Jonas Venture Sr.'s head.
Following an altercation with Vendata and The Monarch that launched the PROBLEM machine outside of VenTech Tower, the machine was destroyed and Jonas Venture Sr.'s head was taken into custody by the O.S.I.
Design and Function
Dr Jonas Venture Sr.'s head within PROBLEM
Externally, PROBLEM was a large metal box with a single red indicator light. Internally, it contained various electrical components as well an artificial digestive system which fed on insects, arachnids, and rodents to provide sustenance for the head of Jonas Venture Sr., which was in a cavity shaped to hold a complete human body.
The purpose of PROBLEM was to revive and extend the life of an individual after an event that caused death. According to Colonel Gentleman, a head was not much to give PROBLEM, and Team Venture thought PROBLEM had been unsuccessful in reviving Jonas Venture Sr. since the light did not activate for "thirty years."
In Arrears in Science Dean attempted to inform Team Venture that the light had activated when they visited Gargantua-1 during the events of Careers in Science, but was silenced by his embarrassed father.
Episode Appearances
- Careers in Science (aboard Gargantua 1)
- Maybe No Go (lobby of VenTech Tower)
- Faking Miracles (lobby of VenTech Tower)
- Rapacity in Blue (lobby of VenTech Tower)
- Tanks for Nuthin' (lobby of VenTech Tower)
- A Party for Tarzan (lobby of VenTech Tower)
- The Venture Bros. & The Curse of the Haunted Problem (wreckage of Gargantua 1; lobby of VenTech Tower)
- Arrears in Science (lobby of VenTech Tower; flashback to Gargantua 1)