"South Park" has long been the MVP of Comedy Central, hauling whatever show airs after it to decent ratings. 
   But now it looks like one of those shows finally has detached itself from "Park's" coattails, to the point that it is now bettering its lead-in's ratings. 
   Comedy Central's "Chappelle's Show" starring Dave Chappelle had a strong week and helped boost the network to an even stronger February, up 10 percent over the previous month among adults 18-49.
  "Chappelle," which airs Wednesday at 10:30 p.m., was responsible for a good part of that. Last week's episode made the top 10 on ad-supported cable among viewers 18-49 years old. With more than 1.9 million viewers in the group, it was the most-viewed episode since the show's Jan. 21 season premiere.
   The hybrid stand-up/skit show is known for its over-the-top humor. Last week's episode featured comedian Chappelle imagining what the life of rapper Lil' John must be like and what the internet would look like if it was a real place.
   His edgy wit lifted it to the seventh highest-rated show on ad-supported cable last week among 18-49s and ranked No. 9 for the entire month of February among 12-24s.
   The show was sixth among 18-34s with nearly 1.5 million viewers. It bettered lead-in "South Park's" 1.09 million viewers among 18-34s and 1.63 million 18-49 viewers.
   Overall, "Chappelle" is having a good season, up 14 percent in 18-49 ratings and 25 percent in total viewers compared to last year, its first.
   Comedy Central may not bring in the numbers of, say, MTV, but February was a very strong month for the network. Its full-day ratings average in 18-49s was 0.3, a 3 percent rise from last February. And its prime time average of 0.5 represented a 10 percent increase over the same month last year.
   MTV's "The Real World San Diego" was the top rated show in 18-49s last week with its 10-spot partner "The Osbournes" finishing third. Discovery Channel's cult favorite "American Chopper" finished between them in second place.
   The E! pre-Academy Awards coverage from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday performed best among 25-54s, ranking sixth for the week. The coverage averaged 3.1 million total viewers, placing No. 39.