[the_third_wave]

Ah, electronics hobbyists these days... I repaired my first TV at 16yo, it was a Nordmende B&W set with a resistor directly on the output of the flyback transformer. That resistor was broken which led to a nice corona discharge lighting up the inside of the set, looking at it was like looking at the set of a 30's Frankenstein movie. This set me up for a 'career' of repairing televisions and (later) monitors while at university where I came across all sorts of interesting light/sound/smoke effects from those 35kV flyback transformers with cascade circuits (called 'tripplers' since they were used to raise the output voltage) on large-tube sets.

I never got zapped which is a good thing since yes, that can be unpleasant and - depending on when and where it happens - dangerous. Discharge those tubes and cascades before you fiddle with them, use a screwdriver connected to a ground wire which is connected to the metal tube frame. If you want to do it 'professionally' you'll want to put a HT resistor in that wire, otherwise just zap the thing by sticking the screwdriver under the plastic cap on the high tension connector at the tube.