Unless you have a newer laptop, chances are that you will only have a VGA-out on your laptop. Most TVs also have a VGA-in as well. Most people forget that you will also need to bring the sound to your TV. On my flatscreen, if I choose the VGA source, it automatically chooses the 3.5mm stereo input that is next to the VGA-in as well. You need to get both of those from your laptop to the TV.
For that, I would recommend this cable as it has all of the connections that you need:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?p_id=557
This one is 6' but they have other lengths as well.
