reception, with Richard Harrington of the Los Angeles Times rebuking Pleasence for giving "a flat two-note performance". A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club writes that by the time of Halloween 5, "Donald Pleasence’s shtick had shaded into self-parody. He spends most of this regrettable fourth sequel bellowing into a little girl’s face like a lunatic." Commentary was directed toward the reduced role of Loomis in The Curse of Michael Myers, with Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle calling the role "hardly more than an extended cameo", and Jeremy Nichols lamenting that Pleasence's "role was cut down significantly so we don’t get to see him much." Eric Hatch and Berardinelli, both of whom disliked the sixth film, bemoaned that it was Pleasence's last appearance in the series, with Sparks asserting that "Pleasance deserved better, especially at the end of his career." In popular culture Loomis has been featured in merchandise. In 2020, NECA released a figure of Loomis alongside Laurie Strode based on their appearance in Halloween II (1981). NECA produced a two-pack of 7-inch figures of Loomis and Michael from Halloween II to celebrate the film's fortieth anniversary the following year. Loomis has also been referenced in media. In the season eight episode of The Simpsons entitled "Hurricane Neddy", after Dr. Foster discovers that Ned Flanders has gone mad, he states, "May god have mercy on us all!" The episode's DVD commentary clarifies this as a reference to Loomis' reaction to Michael escaping at the start of the original film. In the 2010 The Boondocks episode "Smokin' with Cigarettes", the Dr. Doomis character is based on Loomis and voiced by his H20 voice actor Tom Kane. In the 1996 film Scream, Skeet Ulrich's character Billy Loomis is named after him. The fifth film in the Scream series stars Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter, who is revealed to be Billy's daughter, with her technical name being a nod to the Halloween character. Nicholas Brooks of Comic Book Resources writes extensively on the connections between Barrera and Pleasence's characters. In the 1985 Mexican slasher film Cemetery of Terror, Hugo Stiglitz plays the psychiatrist of the film's antagonist in a role inspired by Loomis. In the 2002 film Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat, John McConnell and Mark McLachlan play detectives Dave Loomis and Mike Myers, named after the Halloween characters. Max Gail plays a character named Sam Loomis in an episode