I do this often. The easiest and by far cheapest way to do it is to plug the video into the tv via S-video and the audio with a stereo mini to stereo rca cable.
Video quality is quite decent depending on the tv and the shorter the S-video cable the better. I wouldn't want to use one longer than 6-8 feet.

If the tv has a vga/computer input then use that instead for better quality picture, and adjust the computers screen resolution accordingly to match the tv screens size/dimensions. You'd need the same audio cable and a standard vga to vga video cable to go from the laptops vga out to the tv vga in.

Any other method, using the laptop vga output would require purchasing electronic equipment to adapt or scale the picture to the tv. minimum 100-200 dollars.