That is (at least from the Boyle perspective) it represented "them" - what they were and still are. In fact, I was thinking that it may have even been "them" from the time just before and during the first modern Olympiad period (1890s or thereabouts) and onward.
It was a hefty sampling of their history and culture (where "culture" = literary, musical, and health/scientific - with their unique sociological overlay on each of those things). It came wrapped in a "British bow" from an area that once had an empire "where the sun never set" (and they became that conglomeration of people from their colonies and commonwealth countries).
I was a watcher of some of their classic humor (e.g., Monty Python, Bean, Fawlty Towers) and older shows thanks to PBS (e.g., old & new Dr. Who, Masterpiece Theater, etc), as well as a myriad of movies (not just Bond)... and there is a style that is uniquely them. It may seem quirky to Americans but the extraordinary use and perfection of satire, witticisms, symbolism, and irony is still remarkable to me and far more subtle than here. They are rarely "in your face", and that is what is interesting. They have been around a long time. Makes me love watching Martin Bashir as he slices and dices through his show. 
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