I just bought a 2002 32 inch tv and when i hooked the cable to it it just looks like a ant farm any suggestions

Best way to diagnose would be to plug the same cable into another TV. Then you can determine what the real problem is, the TV or the cable.
By ant farm, I imagine you mean static, which could be caused by the TV being on the wrong channel. Refer to the owners manual for connection information, or switch though the channels and inputs using the TV/Video button and the Channel Up/Down buttons.
To prove the TV is not working, try hooking up different devices using different inputs. For example, try a game console with and RCA (red and white) cable, a DVD player with a component cable, or a camcorder with s-video.
After you hook up an new device, be sure to check the different inputs with the TV/Video button.
If all else fails, call you cable company and see if they can help (via phone or in-person), or return the TV.

It sounds like you either need to set the input on tv or the output from your source to be correct

if you give me more info about what you are hooking up and to what input with what types of wires i might be able to help more

let me know

good luck!!