Cyclic universe
The cyclic universe was a theory that the universe existed in an infinite self-sustaining cycle of new universes which all began in Big Bangs resulting from the Big Crunches of the universe preceeding them. (PROSE: A Bell Ringing in an Empty Sky [+]Loading...["A Bell Ringing in an Empty Sky (short story)"])
The Seventh Doctor believed that his universe was part of such a cycle, with the Great Old Ones' universe being the universe which came before his. (PROSE: All-Consuming Fire [+]Loading...["All-Consuming Fire (novel)"])
By one account, this model was unrealistic due to entropy. (PROSE: A Bell Ringing in an Empty Sky [+]Loading...["A Bell Ringing in an Empty Sky (short story)"])
A similar concept was the cycle of universal regeneration, which occurred on a different scale to universal lifetimes. (PROSE: The Coming of the Terraphiles [+]Loading...["The Coming of the Terraphiles (novel)"])