Atlantis finale airs January 9

The second Stargate series will take its final bow on Friday, January 9 on the SCI FI Channel in the United States, The Futon Critic is reporting.

Stargate Atlantis‘s final episode is “Enemy At the Gate,” which will tie up the show’s fifth and final season and feature a return by former base commander Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping).

While it will leave some story threads unresolved, the episode will not be a traditional cliffhanger.

The final episode will be followed by the first Stargate Atlantis movie, which will air on SCI FI and then be released on DVD in 2009. That story is currently being scripted by Atlantis executive producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie.

Although SCI FI has not yet announced the specifics of its December and January schedules, by our best guess Atlantis will take a holiday break for December 19 and 26, and return with “Vegas” on January 2. The network is expected to announce that schedule in the near future.

There is also no new episode the week of Thanksgiving in the U.S., November 28.

Read the full report now at The Futon Critic, which also details the January 16 return of Battlestar Galactica, the January 9 season finale of Sanctuary, and SCI FI’s plans to air the short-lived network dramas Moonlight and Invasion next year.

A brand new episode of Atlantis, “The Prodigal,” airs this Friday at 9 p.m. (8 Central) on SCI FI.

(Thanks to Morjana for the tip)