Can you hook a vhs/dvd player to a TV that has no cable box, its just a plain old TV

Sure, assuming the player has outputs that match the TV's inputs. Normally a TV will have, at least, a Co-Ax input and the player should have a Co-Ax output.

Depending on how old the units are, you may have HDMI ports on both. I have a TV in a cabin, no TV reception or cable available. We use the TV for video use only, HDMI port to port with a Sony DVD player. Works perfectly. On older units, use the 3 cable set up.