Fortunately Sam and Frodo got to Sammath Naur.

Unfortunately Frodo was so overcome by deja vu, he swooned into a persistent vegetative state.

Fortunately, Sam was still awake and tossed the Ring into the Crack of Doom.

Unfortunately, they had come to the wrong volcano.

Fortunately the Ring sank into superhot lava and the Ring was destroyed anyway.

Unfortunately, Frodo was wearing the ring at the time.

Fortunately Sam pulled Frodo out.

Unfortunately what remained of Frodo could have been carried by a three-legged ant.

Fortunately, Merry and Pippin came by to cheer Sam up with victuals from Saruman's store-house and 'Old Tobey".

Unfortunately M@P and Sam were killed in a volcanic eruption.

Fortunately, the Valar took pity on the four heros and brought them back to life, sending them to Rivendell.

Unfortunately, the Valar had no concept of time, and by the time they sent the four heroes back to Rivendel, it was now a combined casino and brothel.

Fortunately there was a bookshop nearby, and Pippin picked up a copy of Lord of the Rings, where the hobbits learnt, to their surprise, that they had saved the world via a completely different, and rather more sensible, course of events than the ones they had actually experienced...

Unfortunately it was Lord of the Rings on tape read out by Woody Allen

Fortunately, this did not mean anything to the Hobbits.

Unfortunately while they were listening to the story they got run over by a bus, which for some reason had careened out of control into the casino which was once Rivendell.

Fortunately the bus was made of cheese so very little damage was done.

Unfortunately, it was made of the Evil Killer Cheese of Doom, which was even worse than a normal bus.

Fortunately, the mice on the bus had gobbled up so much of the cheese that there wasn't enough left to harm the hobbits.

Unfortunately the mice gobbled up the hobbits

Fortunately, the mice were small and kickable. So the hobbits kicked them away.

Unfortunately the headless Gollum died because the Ring was destroyed.

Fortunately, that had been many yeas ago, and so the Hobbits really did not care.

Unfortunately, the mice were really shape-shifting Balrogs.

Fortunately, the Hobbits were able to get to higher ground. As Frodo said, "everyone knows Balrogs don't have wings!"

Unfortunately Frodo was wrong. They did have wings and were very eager to use them. :p

Fortunately the balrogs were not aerodynamically shaped for flying.

Unfortunately, the balrogs (like bumblebees) did not know this, so they flew anyway.

Fortunately, they did not get very far.

Unfortunately, they got far enough.

Fortunately the hobbits found a rock and quickly hid beneath it.

Unfortunately the balrog landed on the rock, crushing the hobbits.

Fortunately, the Balrog was distracted by something shiny, and quickly left the rock.

Unfortunately the Hobbits were still crushed.

Fortunatley a eagle picked up the rock

Unfortunately, the rock was too heavy for the eagle to lift.

fortunately the rock was a large piece of cotton candy that was disguised as a rock.

Unfortunately, the hobbits were allergic to cotton candy.

Fortunately, there was a hospital near by.

Unfortunately it was haunted by Barrow-Wights