Hitchhiker's Guide (tv show) question

[joethelion]

ok
so I finally got around to renting the tv show. I saw the movie when it came in theaters and loved it... I wasn't up to much - and I figured, why don't I finally see what it was like before the movie

...I realize it didn't start as the TV show - but that's not my question


ok - so my big question:

At the end of the series (or at least the dvd) they finally find out the "ultimate question" to which the answer is supposed to be 42. The question is: What do you get if you multiply six by nine?

...but 6x9 = 54 not 42

and did the tv show seriously end like that? Just abandoning all of the supporting characters - just leaving the main two on earth?