DRAWING POWER

Remember that big Buffy story I teased in Tuesday's column? Turns out I can't keep a freakin' secret to save my life. As reported in the new issue of TV Guide magazine (on sale tomorrow), the animated Buffy the Vampire Slayer series is back on the drawing board — with Sarah Michelle Gellar erased from the cast. According to sources, the Chosen One opted not to reprise her title role, leading creator Joss Whedon to recruit Giselle Loren — the video-game voice of Buffy — to mouth off alongside original Scoobies Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon and Anthony Stewart Head in the pilot (which unspools for potential distributors next month). For an exclusive First Look at the Buffy toon, pick up the new issue of TV Guide. The way cool image appears on page 14, directly under the photo of a certain Italian stallion.