  Published measurements of distances to detached eclipsing binaries in the
Large Magellanic Cloud combine stellar surface areas (in absolute units)
determined from photometric light and radial velocity curves with surface
brightnesses from model atmospheres and observed spectra. The method does not
require the stars to be normal or undistorted, and is not limited in its
applicability to the well detached systems that have traditionally been
considered. With this in mind we carry out semi-detached light curve solutions
for SMC binaries discovered by the OGLE collaboration, identify candidates for
distance estimation, and tabulate OGLE light curve solutions. We point out
important advantages for semi-detached binaries as standard candles; (1) light
curve solutions can be strengthened by exploiting lobe-filling configurations,
(2) only single-lined spectra may be needed because the mass ratio can often be
determined from photometry, and (3) nearly all semi-detached binaries have
sensibly circular orbits. We carry out simulations with synthetic data to show
that semi-detached binaries can often be reliably identified and to quantify
the accuracy of solutions. The simulations demonstrate two additional
advantages for semi-detached distance determination candidates; (4) the
well-known difficulty in distinguishing solutions with interchanged radii
(aliasing) is much less severe for semi-detached than for detached binaries,
and (5) the desirable condition of complete eclipse is identified with improved
reliability. In many cases we find that detached and semi-detached systems can
be distinguished, and we select 36 candidate semi-detached systems from the
OGLE SMC eclipsing binary catalog. We also note the near absence of Algol-like
light curves in the OGLE sample and discuss possible explanations.
